Pancakes on the AGA this Shrove Tuesday

Pancakes are already a Saturday morning ritual in our house – there's usually a queue for the boiling plate by nine o'clock. But Shrove Tuesday turns it into a proper event. The whole family around the hotplate, the smell of butter melting in a hot pan, that lovely sizzle as the batter hits the surface and you swirl it thin. Eating them almost as quickly as they're made.

They're one of the simplest things you can cook on an AGA, and one of the most satisfying. Our family's favourite is still the classic – a good squeeze of lemon and plenty of sugar. Though you can't go wrong with a spoonful of Nutella! 

This recipe comes from the wonderful Na Hansell, one of AGA's authorised cookery demonstrators. Na runs regular cooking demonstrations and shares lots of lovely recipes and AGA tips on her Instagram profile – @Na Hansell. She's very much worth following if you cook on an AGA.

The recipe 

Ingredients

(Makes 8 pancakes)

100g plain or buckwheat flour
A pinch of salt 
2 eggs 
300ml milk

Before you start

Preheat your frying pan in the roasting oven for five to ten minutes until it's properly hot. Pop some plates into your warming oven so they're ready when you are.

Method

Put the flour in a bowl with a pinch of salt, make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs. Give it a whisk by hand, letting the egg gradually draw in the flour – this is how you avoid lumps. Add half the milk and mix until smooth, then add the rest to make a thin, pourable batter.

Take your hot pan out of the roasting oven. If you have one of AGA's non-stick cast iron pans, a little butter wiped around with kitchen roll is all you need to stop things sticking. If not, add a tablespoon of melted butter into your batter – that works just as well.

Pour enough batter into the pan to coat the base, swirl it around, and pop it onto the boiling plate. Give it about ninety seconds. You'll hear it gently sizzling, and the edges will start to curl and crisp. Loosen it with a spatula and peek underneath – when the base is golden, you're ready to flip.

If by some miracle your pancakes aren't devoured immediately, stack them on a plate in the warming oven – they'll stay nicely warm and ready for as long as you need.

A few tips from Na

The first pancake is rarely perfect. They improve as the pan becomes more seasoned. But don’t worry, they'll still taste wonderful.

On flipping: hold the pan with both hands, give it a little shake to make sure the pancake is loose, and then commit. A gentle toss with confidence works far better than a tentative one. This is the bit the children really want to be involved in. Watch the ceiling! 

For anyone avoiding gluten, buckwheat flour works beautifully – the flavour is slightly nuttier but lovely. And if you need to leave out the eggs, the batter still works well – a slightly different texture, but just as delicious.

However you have yours

Lemon and sugar will always be the one for us – that hit of sharp citrus against the sweetness, with the warmth of a fresh pancake underneath. But golden syrup, maple syrup, fresh berries, or a generous spoonful of Nutella are all popular in this house. There's no wrong answer on Pancake Day.